Defamation remains a criminal offence in San Marino.

The Criminal Code of San Marino foresees the following offences:

Defamation (Art. 183): Publicly alleging a fact that offends a person’s honour. Defamation is punishable with short-term detention or a daily fine of the second degree.

Insult (Art. 184): Publicly offending another person’s honour. Insult is punished with short-term detention or a daily fine of the second degree.

Aggravated defamation (Art. 185): Committing an act of defamation through the media. Aggravated defamation is punishable with imprisonment of the first degree, a fine, short-term detention of the second degree or a daily fine of the third degree.

Content that forms part of writings or speeches presented by the Grand and General Council (Art. 187) or part of proceedings before a judge (Art. 188) is privileged. Exemptions from liability can also be granted if the act was committed in response to a provocation (Art. 186).

A persons accused of crimes against honour may seek to prove the truth of the impugned accusation only in the following cases (Art. 189): if the offended persons consents, if the accusation is the subject of a pending criminal investigation or if the establishing the facts is a matter of public interest. Should the accusation be proved as true, the accused person will be exempted from criminal liability.

Offence to high state officials (Art. 344): Offending the honour or prestige of members of the Grand and General Council, the Congress of State and the Council of Twelve, government ministries, judicial bodies or the office of the public prosecutor.

The act is punishable with imprisonment of the first degree or of the second degree if the act is committed in the presence of the high state officials name (Art. 345).

Offence to persons associated with court proceedings (Art. 349): Offending the honour or prestige of a clerk of the court, a court-appointed expert, an interpreter, a witness or another person associated with court proceedings. The act is punishable with imprisonment of the first degree.

Offence to public officials (Art. 382): Offending the honour or dignity of a public official in the official’s presence or direct communication with him, in relation to official function. The act is punishable with imprisonment of the first degree or with a daily fine of the third degree. If committed with violence or a serious threat, the punishment increases to imprisonment of the second degree.

Offence to the Captains Regent (Art. 342): Offending the honour or prestige of the Captains Regent. The act is punishable with imprisonment of the second degree or of the third degree if committed in the presence of the Captains Regent (Art. 345).

Damage to the good name of the Republic by citizens abroad (Art. 333): Organising the dissemination of false news that harm the Sammarinese economy abroad, when conducted by citizens outside of state territory. The act is punishable with imprisonment of the second degree and a ban of the third degree on the holding of public office and the exercise of political rights.

Contempt for the Republic and its emblems (Art. 338): Publicly expressing contempt for the Republic of San Marino, its flag or other emblems. The act is punishable with imprisonment of the second degree. If committed by a Sammarinese citizen, a ban on the holding of public office and the exercise of political rights of the fourth degree is applied.

Offence to representative of a foreign state (Art. 335): Publicly offending on Sammarinese territory a representative of a foreign state present in San Marino. Prosecution is at the request of the Captains Regent. The act is punishable with imprisonment of the second degree.

No provisions.

No provisions.

Religious insult (Art. 260): Profaning the symbols of a religion that does not run contrary to public morality, profaning objects of worship or publicly mocking acts of worship. The act is punishable with imprisonment of the first degree. The same punishment applies to offences to the honour and dignity of a minister with respect to official function. Profaning the sacred relics of San Marino is punishable with imprisonment of the second degree.

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General notes

The continued existence of criminal defamation laws in San Marino was noted by Nils Muižnieks, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, during an official visit in June 2015. In his report, Muižnieks recommended:

“The Commissioner notes that the Sammarinese authorities have not yet decriminalised defamation. Despite the measured approach of the Sammarinese courts, the Commissioner considers that the existing criminal provisions send a negative signal to journalists and encourages the Sammarinese authorities to consider repealing them, dealing with defamation through strictly proportionate civil sanctions only.”

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Information for San Marino was originally collected by IPI as part of a study commissioned by the Office of the Representative on Freedom of the Media of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). It is reprinted here with the permission of the OSCE.

A fully footnoted version of this entry is available in the OSCE study. This entry was last updated in March 2017.

The information contained in this database is for informational and advocacy purposes only. If you are a journalist facing a defamation claim, you should seek legal advice from a qualified attorney. However, if you are unable to find such an attorney, IPI may be able to assist you in doing so. Please contact us at info(at)ipi.media.